Landforms of South America

The South American Plate is a major, or primary, tectonic plate. Although it is the smallest major plate, it underlies much of the continent of South America and includes a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed.

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field, located in the Southern Patagonic Andes between Chile and Argentina, is the world's second largest contiguous extrapolar ice field. It is the larger of two remnant parts of the Patagonian Ice Sheet, which covered all of southern Chile during the last glacial period,.

The Altiplano, also called Puna, is a region in west-central South America in the area where the Andes are the widest. It is the most extensive area of high plateau on earth outside Tibet. The bulk of the Altiplano lies in Bolivia but its northern parts lie in Peru and its southern parts lie in Chile and Argentina.

Stretching across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, the Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area. Although not as well known as the Amazon Rainforest to its north, this gigantic seasonal floodplain is also home to a staggering variety of plants and wildlife.

The Strait of Magellan is a sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America and Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Tierra del Fuego, shared by Chile and Argentina, is further separated in the south by the east-west Beagle Channel.

Todos os Santos Bay, or All Saints Bay, is a sheltered bay of the Atlantic Ocean and the principal bay of the Brazilian state of Bahia, to which it gave its name. It sits on the eastern coast of Brazil, surrounding part of Bahia's seaport capital: Salvador.

The Uruguay River is a major river in South America. Its headwaters originate in Brazil's coastal range. The river forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina before eventually joining the Río de la Plata.

The Venezuelan Andes form the northernmost extension of the Andes Mountain system. Cordillera de Mérida, commonly considered the proper Venezuelan Andes, makes up the Andean natural region of Venezuela.